[The following speech was written by Sidney Van Zandt, one of the founders and the first president of GOSA, for the annual meeting Oct. 8, 2002, at which Priscilla Pratt, the current GOSA president, and her late husband, Charles N. Pratt, were honored for 40 years of untiring dedication to saving of open space.]

This evening is a special one for everyone in this town and for members of the Groton Open Space Association as we present an award to Charles N. and Priscilla W. Pratt. Before we present this award, I feel it is important to give some background to the Haley Farm addition of this year. Some of this information was taken from the eulogy that I gave on April 18, 2002, at the memorial service for Charlie.

My friendship with Charlie and Priscilla Pratt goes back to 1961 when we were involved together in a successful battle led by Priscilla¹s brother, Mort Wright, to deny a change of zone by the then owner of the Haley Farm for development of multi-family dwellings there. The developer wanted to allow for 425 duplex units ostensibly for the Coast Guard that was then stationed at Avery Point. As it turned out, the Coast Guard left the area for Ellis Island in New York Harbor a few years later.

Not too long after the zoning battle, when I was working in my vegetable garden, Charlie’s truck came slowly around the corner and pulled over to the edge of lawn. He got out and came over. After a few words to get conversation going, he got straight to the point.

“Sidney, what are we going to do to save the Haley Farm?”

Well, that was a BIG question! And that was the beginning of our many years of effort with the “Save the Haley Farm Committee,” which later became the “Groton Open Space Association.” Charlie and Priscilla were both founders and directors on the board. Priscilla was corresponding secretary. (I was founder and president.) They have long been quiet lions working away with a steady focus to Save the Haley Farm.

As it turns out, Priscilla, while in Hartford (on Pratt Street, would you believe?), saw an organization of interest called the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. She told her tale of our plight to John E. Hibbard, secretary-forester of the organization. John was most helpful and came down to one of our early meetings. That organization rose to the occasion and offered to be our tax-exempt organization, did all the sending of literature and receiving of the funds, as well as giving us advice and moral support throughout the while project.

Brochure Promotes Haley Farm

There was to be a statewide mailing, but–for Charlie–a letter alone would not do. Charlie and Priscilla put together a brochure that included photographs and text, which incorporated the present, past and geography. It was a brilliant work of art. This project had to be a promotion because the officials in the Town of Groton, as well as the regional planning agency, felt that there was PLENTY of open space around. The town wanted to develop the area, so ours was a lonely battle. It was a battle to sidestep our town government, meaning our organization was to raise funds for the town¹s portion of shared town-state-federal open space grants.

After two years of vigorous activity, $25,000 had been raised toward the $100,000 goal. But on December of 1969, the state gave us a proposition that it would buy the farm if we could bring that total to $50,000 by March 1, 1970. (That was only two months away.) The challenge was accepted.

What followed was a marvel of community cooperation that included local organizations and church groups that held smorgasbords, spaghetti suppers, and bake sales. Youth groups and individuals organized pony rides, car washes, and anything and everything else to raise the money. An anonymous matching fund known as “Match 3000” to a rock concert held at the City of Groton Auditorium took the fund-raising challenge by storm.

We went over the top. The deeds were filed in July of 1970, but it was a bittersweet victory because the developer had held back the upper 50 acres, the ones that abut the high school all along the baseball field. Charlie and Priscilla would not rest with that unfinished business, and they worked steadily thereafter on various ways of raising the funds to add that acreage to the rest of the park.

Shortly after the Haley Farm Battle was won, with hardly any time to catch our breath, the Bluff Point Advisory Council was formed by a bill passed by the legislature. The council was to come up with a plan for the “highest and best use” of the area. The board was made up of 20 representatives of organizations, towns and city boards, and individuals. Charlie was the press secretary. Among present GOSA directors on the board were Tom Hatfield, Edith Fairgrieve and Omar Allvord. Omar and I were co-chairmen.

At the time, the state only owned a 250-acre strip along the Poquonnock River, including the beach and the bluff, but not the ridge or the land facing Mumford Cove, or the former railroad land south of the tracks.

Battles Follow Over Bluff Point

Memorable battles ensued over numerous objectionable proposals. Some of the plans we fought:

–a four-lane highway from a cross-town road and another from I-95.

–a Plan of Development for the 250 acres that called for a 5,000 car parking lot.

–a sewer outfall through the east side of the peninsula that would cut through the beach to empty into the Sound.

–a 400-boat marina.

–an industrial park.

–two tries to promote a bridge from Long Island landing here and on Fishers Island.

–a subterranean oil storage facility.

There also was a five-year battle to expand the airport, as well as to develop a barge terminal and a helicopter landing port. We were successful in all those battles, and after the smoke cleared many years later, the state had purchased the remaining land, which then brought the total to 778 acres. A bill promoted by the Bluff Point Advisory Council, protecting the park from intensive development, was passed in the legislature in 1975 mandating Bluff Point be a Coastal Reserve, the first on the East Coast.

After the Haley Farm became a state park, the farmer who was grazing his cows and horses there had to remove them, and the barns and outbuildings were taken down by the state. Short of funds, the state more or less abandoned this lovely, newly acquired area. The fields were reverting to woodland at a rapid rate. However, with the interest earned each year from our “over the top” fund drive, Charlie and Priscilla arranged with a farmer to have the fields cut once a year.

In the late 1990s, Charlie and Priscilla incorporated the Groton Open Space Association as a non-profit so they could continue to raise more funds to maintain the area, promote annual Clean-up Days at the park, give support to the Town of Groton open space referendums and deal with numerous other environmental issues.

GOSA has been an active advocate at both town and state levels for over 32 in the effort to secure the O&G property, lovingly referred to as the “Upper 50 Acres.” Three attempts to develop the property were successfully opposed by GOSA and other concerned citizens and groups. One was for 48 houses on the O&G property; another was for a 95 unit cluster development on both the O&G property and the adjacent Briggs property; and a third was an attempt to obtain a 50 foot right-of-way across town property to open up both the Briggs and O&G lands for intensive development. Serious negotiations between the state and the owners of the land belonging to O&G (22 heirs were part of the trust for O&G) as well as Bowen Briggs began in May, 2000. GOSA was the catalyst. Issues of price and availability of funds that had kept the parties apart for so many years were resolved. The state¹s Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust Program made the purchases possible.

On May 28, 2002, two months short of 32 years, the Upper 50 Acres and the adjacent 7 acres of the Briggs property were recorded at Groton Town Hall and the 57.09 acres were added to the Haley Farm State Park, which now totals 267.37 acres preserved for open space.

A recently completed pedestrian bridge crosses the Amtrak line at the southern end of the park, and joins Haley Farm State Park with the Bluff Point State Park and Coastal Reserve for a total 1,000+ acres.

What a gift your efforts have been! It is our pleasure to present this award to you for the 40 years of untiring effort and dedication to acquire, protect and preserve open space in our town, including the more than 1,000 acres of Bluff Point and the Haley Farm with its latest addition of 57.09 acres on the 28th of May 2002.

GROTON –The Groton Town Council has issued a proclamation praising Charles and Priscilla Pratt for their role in the 32-year-long struggle, recently concluded successfully, to add 57 acres to the Haley Farm State Park. A press release on the addition follows this item.

Mayor Frank O’Beirne Jr. read the proclamation at the June 18 Town Council meeting. The statement also commended the Pratts and GOSA for “their never-ending desire, dedication, and hard work to preserve open space in the Town of Groton.”

As Mrs. Pratt accepted the award on behalf of her late husband, herself and GOSA, Mayor O’Beirne quipped that he hoped the next open-space acquisition wouldn’t take 32 years. Mrs. Pratt, who is president of GOSA, responded that 32 years, long though it was, is insignificant in comparison to the future time that visitors will enjoy the protected land. She also recalled a favorite quote of her late husband from the French writer Victor Hugo:

“There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.”

The text of the Town Council proclamation follows:

WHEREAS, the State of Connecticut has acquired an additional 57 acres of open space adjacent to the picturesque Haley Farm State Park, north to the boundary of the Robert E. Fitch Senior High School; and

WHEREAS, the expanded park will offer passive recreation, such as bird-watching, bicycling, jogging, and walking on trails that connect to the nearby Bluff Point State Park and Coastal Reserve; and

WHEREAS, Charles and Priscilla Pratt spearheaded the effort for the State to acquire this property between Haley Farm and Fitch High School; and

WHEREAS, Charles and Priscilla Pratt moved to Noank in 1957, and Charles became a member of the first Noank Park Commission and later Chairman; and

WHEREAS, the late Mr. Pratt was a pioneering conservationist and founder of the Groton Open Space Association (GOSA), which led the way to the establishment of Haley Farm State Park in 1970, and his striking photographs of the farm’s natural beauty were instrumental in a statewide campaign to raise the private funds that, in conjunction with state and federal monies, were used to purchase the property; and

WHEREAS, as Press Secretary of the Bluff Point Advisory Council, Mr. Pratt was a leader in the citizens’ effort to make Bluff Point a coastal reserve, a designation affording a high level of protection to undeveloped land, and acting on recommendations of the Advisory Council, the Connecticut legislature created the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve in 1975 which remains the only coastal reserve on the East Coast; and

WHEREAS, the late Mr. Pratt was on the Baord of Directors of the GOSA, a member of the Noank Volunteer Fire Company, the Noank Historical Society, the Mystic Seaport, and the Connecticut River Museum, just to name a few; and

WHEREAS, the Groton Open Space Association now plans to focus its attention on other parcels in town that could be preserved as open space; NOW THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Town Council of the Town of Groton does hereby commend Charles and Priscilla Pratt and the Groton Open Space Association for their never-ending desire, dedication, and hard work to preserve open space in the Town of Groton.

(Following announcement was issued by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and GOSA.)

HARTFORD, June 3, 2002–The State of Connecticut (DEP) has completed purchase of 49.95 acres from the Guerra-DeAngelis Trustees, and 7.14 acres from Bowen Briggs, to add to Haley Farm State Park. The deeds were recorded at Groton Town Hall on May 28, 2002.

These lands are located between Fitch Senior High School and the existing Haley Farm State Park.

These acquisitions come 32 years after the purchase by the State of 200 acres from A.C. White for Haley Farm State Park in 1970. The 50 acres that belonged to the O&G Construction Co. of New Haven were intended to be purchased as part of the park at that time, but negotiations were not completed.

Groton Open Space Association has a long history of involvement in Haley Farm, including spearheading a successful fund drive in the 1960s that led to the establishment of the State Park. Since 1985, GOSA with DEP approval, has contracted and paid a farmer annually to mow the fields. Since 1970, the group has been an active advocate at both town and state levels for completion of the open space purchases at the park. …

GOSA is very grateful for the Guerra-DeAngelis, Briggs acquisitions, and for the State’s Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust Program, which made these purchases possible.

He was the devoted husband of Priscilla Wright Pratt and the beloved father of Catherine Taylor Pratt and Charles Timothy J. Pratt.

Born in Essex, on Sept. 22, 1923, to Charles Manwaring Pratt and Violet Elizabeth Taylor Pratt, he was a direct descendant of William Pratt, the first settler of Essex. He was also the great-great-great-grandson of the merchant John Taylor of Glasgow and New York, one of early New York’s prominent citizens.

Mr. Pratt graduated from Pratt High School in Essex in 1941. He received an associate’s degree from New London Junior College in 1943 and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1950.

He served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946, and attended the officer training program at Yale University. Later, he was stationed in the Pacific with the Third Fleet.

After graduating from Rensselaer, Mr. Pratt moved to New York, where he worked as an architect for Walker and Poor, J. Gordon Carr, and Edward Durell Stone. During this time, he helped design the New York ASPCA headquarters and animal shelter, and the Parke-Bernet building, and he supervised the interior remodeling of the first National City Bank headquarters on Wall Street.

He marred Priscilla Redfield Wright, of Centerbrook, in 1951, and the couple resided in New York until 1957, when they movd to Noank and Mr. Pratt established his own business in architectural photography. He served as secretary of the Architectural Photographers Association and, in 1973, he was a finalist in the PPG Industries Architectural Photographers Invitational, a national photography competition. His advice was frequently sought on issues pertaining to architectural history and preservation.

A pioneering conservationist, Mr. Pratt was a founder of the Groton Open Space Association, which led the way in the establishment of Haley Farm State Park in 1970. His striking photographs of the farm’s natural beauty were instrumental in a statewide campaign to raise the private funds, that in conjunction with state and federal monies, were used to purchase the property.

As press secretary of the Bluff Point Advisory Council, he was a leader in the citizens’ effort to make Bluff Point a coastal reserve, a designation affording a high level of protection to undeveloped land. Acting on recommendations of the Advisory Council, the Connecticut legislature created the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve in 1975, and today Bluff Point remains the only coastal reserve on the East Coast.

Interested in civic planning, Mr. Pratt was a member of the first Noank Park Commission and later served as its chairman. He designed the original Noank park in 1958, and later the Noank town dock and beach.

After his retirement from architectural photography, Mr. Pratt and his wife opened the Pratt-Wright Gallery in Noank, which specializes in art of the Mystic-Noank region.

Growing up on the Connecticut River, Mr. Pratt acquired an extensive knowledge of wooden boats and maritime history. He was an accomplished sailor, owning and maintaining a series of unique wooden boats that he sailed with his family and friends. He was also a lifelong fly fisherman and an expert at fly tying.

He was on the board of directors of the Groton Open Space Association and was a member of the Noank Volunteer Fire Company, the Noank Historical Society, the Mystic Seaport, the Connnecticut River Museum, the Nauyaug Cruising Club, and the Essex Congregational Church.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, April 8, at Noank Baptist Church. Interment will be at 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, in Riverview Cemetery in Essex.

This page is devoted to memories of Priscilla Pratt and tributes to her inspired leadership of GOSA, which ended with her death June 15, 2009. The first three pieces are by GOSA directors. The fourth is by John Wirzbicki, a former Groton Town Council member who writes the CTBlueBlog.

– – – –

Joan Smith

It was a sad day, but a beautiful day, the day Priscilla left us. We will miss her terribly. Yet we know she had a good life right up to the very end. She led a well-examined life, blessed by good friends and family, and she was committed to the welfare of animals and the environment. Love of Priscilla now keeps us going.

Priscilla led the GOSA cabal (as my husband calls it) in a quiet, thoughtful and dignified manner. Neighbors may have wondered what was going on in the Pratt-Wright Gallery, where we met, but we knew about GOSA’s efforts to protect the environment, sensitive lands, habitats and waters. Priscilla and GOSA helped to protect Haley Farm, Bluff Point, 57 new Haley Farm acres, and The Merritt Family Forest, more than 1,100 acres in all. Priscilla’s tenure as president covered GOSA’s incorporation as a nonprofit and GOSA’s twenty-two year program of mowing Haley Farm’s fields.

Because of Priscilla, we know we are not alone. Her legacy is the backbone and quiet confidence we need to follow our convictions, to deal with challenges and to speak clearly and effectively. She is within us and still corrects our spelling. She makes sure that we are careful in what we say and that we show restraint and respect for others. She sees that we do not back down in the face of intimidation, but that we can also accept correction and learn to do better. Anyone who mistook her small size and quiet manner for timidity, at their peril, learned otherwise. We can only emulate her sharp mind.

Love of nature brought us together. Once upon a time, Frank Williams invited me to a board meeting, where I met Priscilla, Charlie and the rest of the cabal. The topic of discussion was logging at the Mortimer Wright Preserve, and I immediately knew this was the right group for me. Haley Farm attracted me to the area, and here was the group that had saved it! I was hooked.

Priscilla, Edith Fairgrieve and I began spending full days, in the time before we had computers, typing statements, correcting spelling, and researching science — speaking in what seemed to be a lonely voice for the environment. And then the community responded in spades. Engineers taught us how to read a site plan, land trustees gave us language, and biologists, educators and experts in birds, botany, amphibians, water, shellfish, saltwater marshes, nitrogen and turtles joined the fray. Even lawyers, many pro bono, lined up one behind the other, like a train sitting in the gallery, to teach us how to intervene, appeal and negotiate hard. Neighbors, friends and local businesses gave generously to our fundraising campaigns.

Everyone respected Priscilla, especially our adversaries. Those of us who knew her loved her best. Let us hope there is a little bit of Priscilla in each of us: she took time to know individuals; she mentored and encouraged us, and let each person develop and contribute his particular talent. She spoke kindly and clearly, and had an uncanny eye for detail and a firm grasp of complex issues. By example, she helped us all become better people, and she gave us hope for the future of our planet. What a great and inspirational woman she was!– Eulogy June 27, 2009 .

– – – –

Jim Furlong

Priscilla Pratt, president of the Groton Open Space Association, worked to the end for GOSA and future generations.

Days before she died June 15, Priscilla dictated incisive emails, watched a pertinent town council meeting on television, and used her legendarily sharp eye to catch typos in a GOSA poster.

Priscilla had led GOSA with significant success since the mid-1980s after making big contributions in the 60s and 70s to saving Haley Farm and Bluff Point. Under her presidency, GOSA added to public open space, worked to mitigate development impacts, and championed better rules for land-use commissions. GOSA promoted the town open space bond issue in 1988. These activities have been explained elsewhere. So here are a few things about the woman and the way she led and inspired people.

She was an accomplished sculptor and a former church organist. She wrote moving poetry. She felt deep sympathy with abused and abandoned pets and worked to improve the Groton animal pound. People learned about these things slowly — from others.

Priscilla had spiritual connection with the land and wildlife. When she spoke of beautiful landscapes under threat of destruction or animals displaced from their habitats, both love and distress could be heard in her voice. When it was pointed out to her in 2003 that a legal fight for the 75-acre Merritt property on Fort Hill would last a long time, she never thought of quitting the struggle. “My generation won’t be here much longer, but that land will be here forever,” she said.

Priscilla could communicate her faith in her causes, and she found experts in law, engineering and biology to work for GOSA, often for reduced or no monetary compensation. “Priscilla thinks I should sacrifice my first-born for GOSA,” one lawyer complained humorously.

Meetings of GOSA directors took place at the Pratt-Wright Gallery in Noank amid paintings and under the gaze of Priscilla’s head sculptures. Priscilla spoke softly and never more than needed but with an authority that compelled close attention. The authority sprang from clear thinking, reasoned judgment, humor, firm principles, and fast, reliable recall of facts. Always courteous and gracious, she allowed thorough discussion of issues. Only when talk meandered badly did she lift her gavel. She tapped the air before actually rapping wood for order.

On occasion, other directors would worry about the money we were spending on lawyers and experts. She would describe in detail how much good we had wrung from each dollar and how inappropriate it would be for a non-profit to get financially comfortable. She felt that if we were spending money wisely on doing the right thing, other people would pitch in.

Outside the gallery, Priscilla dealt with a torrent of incoming communications. Her email was vast, but the red wooden mailbox that sat on her Noank front lawn remained a major hub. GOSA members — walking, biking or driving — stopped by 75 Front Street frequently to lift the crimson lid and pick up or leave behind bulky documents. No Cold War espionage drop could have seen more action. Her writings were factually and stylistically meticulous; GOSA’s credibility was at stake. She imposed high standards on others, too. She was one of the sharpest editors I ever worked with. And none had her tact in pointing out errors.

This too-short appreciation ends with a story about Priscilla told by Sidney Van Zandt, a GOSA director and long-time comrade at arms. Around mid-June, Sidney was about to mount a trail map poster at Haley Farm State Park. She says:

“I went over [to her house] about dinner time, when I thought she would be awake. I was told to stay only 10 minutes as she’d had a rough day. She was thrilled to see the poster, but instead of then dismissing it and having conversation, she had me bring it closer, and she proceeded to read every word. Because her bed was next to the wall, I had to move things around a bit for her to read the right side of the map, where she found two typos. She said some whiteout could correct one of the errors, and suggested a dark pen to add that second ‘l’ to ‘shellfish.’ We then talked a few minutes more. I gave her a hug and then left… That was Friday afternoon, June 12 at 6 pm. She died three days later.”– A condensed version of this article appeared in the Avalonia Land Conservancy Fall 2009 newsletter.

– – – –

Sidney Van Zandt

We have lost a great warrior.

Priscilla Wright Pratt has been in the thick of things since the mid 1960’s. Along with Sandy Meech and his organization “ROAR” that did battle to keep the airport from being turned into a Jetport-adjunct to Kennedy airport by filling in the marshes to expand the runways. Priscilla’s brother Mortimer Wright took on the change of zone application into Duplex housing of the Haley Farm formerly the source of milk for the area.

Many of us cut our teeth on that battle. Belton Copp was our pro bono lawyer, and for the first time ever, the Commission turned it down. Mort later was elected State Representative from this area and was responsible for forming the Bluff Point Advisory Council to come up with its highest and best use that so many of us were part of.

Once the Haley Farm was clear of duplex housing, it was still ripe for development. So Priscilla and Charlie Pratt and I then joined forces to see what we could do to “Save the Haley Farm.” Priscilla contacted State officials and convinced them in her quiet way that the land needed to be preserved and that we would try to raise local funds if they would do the rest. This lady was determined and they learned for the first of the many times they would be in contact with her in the years to come, that she meant it. People came from all over the region, and The Groton Open Space Assoc. was born with a full board of Directors. We picked a name that would take us beyond this first project. Little did we know what lay ahead. It was Priscilla that then found John Hibbard of the CT Forest and Park Assoc., a well renowned statewide conservation organization. He spoke at one of our first meetings, and they offered to serve as the umbrella organization for our fund raising.

The drive began with Priscilla, with an English degree from Connecticut College, and Charlie, the architectural-photographer who put together this beautiful booklet that was sent out across the state promoting this purchase. I should say here that Priscilla has a way with words that over the years has produced letters and statements that have so very clearly and eloquently promoted the cause she believed in and gave thanks to those that helped us.

In 1970 after three years of fund raising efforts the Haley Farm became a State Park, but the developer had withdrawn the upper 50 acres that abutted Fitch High School for a separate development. Priscilla was determined to attach that portion with the lower section of Haley Farm. She reactivated GOSA into a non-profit corporation in order to receive from the Ct. Forest and Park the funds they were holding for us that were the excess raised in the initial effort. The interest earned was used to hire Stonington farmer, Tom Crowley and sons to cut the 18 years of reverting fields and vine covered walls. That has continued on for the past 23 years.

The upper 50 plus 7 acre effort went on for 32 years with development proposals of up to 95 units. She was in regular contact with both the developer and the State, and when the developer confided that the family of the next generation were wearing thin, she then passed that information to the State and within a short time the land was purchased and saved in 2002.

Before 2000 GOSA was concerned with a massive development at the top of Fort Hill of 79 units criss-crossed with many roads over land covered with many streams, vernal pools, steep slopes, and it was all going to end up in Eccleston Brook that feeds into Palmer Cove bordering the Haley Farm. Gosa proposed a plan calling for fewer units with much less stormwater runoff. Experts were hired to support these views before commissions. Once again Priscilla was quietly in contact with the owner, Nelson Merritt, and the State DEP to monitor the possible future of this land. When the developer’s option lapsed, she was there putting the pieces together as she had with the Haley Farm over 30 years before. GOSA signed with the Merritts, received a grant from the State DEP, but it took another 5 years of battle with a new developer before he finally gave up and we were free to finish the fund raising. On May 16, 2008 the funds were raised, and Priscilla signed with Nelson Merritt, placing THE MERRITT FAMILY FOREST in GOSA’s ownership. This land is the Keystone to the Greenbelt from the West side of Groton to the East.

Those are just a few of the highlights of her accomplishments. There are many other sides of this mild-mannered lady. She was an accomplished sculptor, and she played the piano and organ, and she wrote poetry.

CAN ONE PERSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE?!!!! Never is that more true than with Priscilla Pratt. Look at this map of Groton. Haley Farm, Bluff Point, The Merritt Family Forest, all there for ALL THE GENERATIONS THAT FOLLOW!

I invite you to go to the Haley Farm, even if it is to just stand inside the gate. Listen to the birds, gaze at the wild flowers, and become enriched by the works of Priscilla Wright Pratt and the organization that she helped to form. And use her as a guiding light so that all of us can make a difference in whatever directions our passions lead us.– Eulogy

– – – –

John Wirzbicki

Over the course of the last 40 years or so great chunks of Groton have been preserved for posterity as Open Space. Lots of folks were involved in the various efforts to preserve the many parcels that have been saved, but one person was central to them all.

Groton owes a huge debt of gratitude to Priscilla Pratt, who has quietly but determinedly led the efforts of the Groton Open Space Association (or its forebears) for those 40 odd years. Priscilla would set out to preserve a threatened property, and against all odds, she would succeed, time and again. Many a developer left Groton in frustration, having seen a proposal die the death of a thousand cuts at Priscilla’s hands.

Never daunted, never deterred, often unfairly derided, as soon as she saved one piece she set her sights on another.

Last night at the Town Committee meeting Andy Maynard told us that Priscilla died recently. Many people in Groton don’t know her name, but each and every one has been benefitted by her work. Not too many people have had the quiet impact that Priscilla has had on her community. She leaves behind many hundreds of acres of preserved space as her memorial. During her life she deflected attempts to honor her for her work; now that she’s gone it is certainly fitting that one of the properties she saved be named in her honor.

Below are some pictures of Haley Farm State Park and some of its inhabitants, the first property that Priscilla saved, which would, if not for her and her brother, Mort Wright, now be filled with Coast Guard housing.